


This Love of Ours

by Simply_A_Cherry_Bomb



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Attempt at humour, Dreams, Fluff, Forgotten Memories, I'm Bad At Tagging, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan-centric, M/M, Revenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24915616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simply_A_Cherry_Bomb/pseuds/Simply_A_Cherry_Bomb
Summary: "And so far, how much do you like me?" Donghyuck's mind stops working for a moment. What? Did Donghyuck hear that correctly? Was Mark asking him whether or not he liked him?"Excuse me?" Donghyuck splutters and Mark finally eases his teasing grin.Or, Mark Lee's a little forward and Donghyuck's having a hard time juggling his life alongside the strange dream he always had ever since he was a kid.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Kudos: 26





	This Love of Ours

**Author's Note:**

> This may have a lot of mistakes and that's completely because I got lazy whilst editing it. The computer science bit? I really don't know, just pretend they're saying smart things thanks

"It's a weird dream," Donghyuck says as he shifts uncomfortably on his seat, the look from the therapist made him shrink even further into his seat. He never told anyone about his dreams, except maybe to his dad and best friend, but other than them, he was too afraid to tell anyone anything.

"What happens in it?" Miss Kang, she insists that he calls her Seulgi, but Donghyuck can't find it in himself to get to first-name basis that quickly.

"It starts off with two people running, an adult and a child," Donghyuck begins, averting his eyes to the carpeted flooring as Seulgi's gaze makes him anxious.  _ The room would look better with a grey carpet,  _ Donghyuck thinks to himself. "They're running away from someth— someone, I think."

"Someone? Do you know who that someone is?" Seulgi asks, leaning forward. Donghyuck would've found that a little distressing a few weeks back when they first started their sessions, but now it gives him some comfort. Donghyuck may not be on a first-name basis with Seulgi just yet, but her warm smile and gentle voice calm his nerves down every time. 

"I'm not sure," Donghyuck answers, fiddling with the hem of his shirt, the strings were ragged and tearing off the edge. He needed to buy a new shirt. "There was one thing that happened recently—Uhm, ever since I've started having these dreams again."

"There was?" Seulgi encourages him to continue with a faint grin on her face. Donghyuck smiles back before clearing his throat.

"I didn't know who the people running away were." Donghyuck's dreams were always blurry, he could barely make out what was happening. After nearly ten years of having them consistently nearly every night, Donghyuck managed to understand the basic idea of what was going on. "Whenever they turned around I either woke up or just couldn't see their faces. But I knew they were scared, they acted scared. They were running away and just seemed terrified." At this point, Donghyuck's breathing suddenly spikes and he takes shallow breaths. Seulgi bits her lip and reaches forward to hold his hand, the gesture causing the tense atmosphere to shimmer down a little.

"However, the dream I had yesterday," Donghyuck's voice wavers as he speaks, causing Seulgi to squeeze his hand gently, the smile on her face never breaking. She knew he liked affection and was willing to give him enough to calm down. "I think— I think I saw myself?"

"Yourself?" She echoes, her eyebrows rose. "You think you saw yourself? Were you the one who was chasing the people or?"

"I was the child being chased," Donghyuck breathed out, shutting his eyes close as his grip on Seulgi's hand tightened. "I was— I think that I was being chased. I think— I'm not sure if it really was me, my memories from when I was a kid are all jumbled up." 

"What comes?" Seulgi tilts her head down and brings her other hand to run it over Donghyuck's arm. 

"I'm not sure," Donghyuck keeps his head low and takes deep breaths. Seulgi senses that he probably won't be telling anymore today and so leans back. Donghyuck immediately misses her warmth but understands why she did that. He was definitely not going to be speaking any more.

"Alright, well how about you tell me how your day went instead? If I remember clearly, you had told me that you were going to some event day for a company?"

At the mention of the event he had told Seulgi about a week ago, Donghyuck brightens up. "Yeah, there's this event that this company's doing and I applied for it. There weren't any qualifications required, it's more like a talk with people who work in that company."

"So did you get the invite?" Seulgi questions with a knowing smile when Donghyuck shows his teeth off. 

"Of course, I did."

  
  
  
  
  
  


-

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Why do you have to drag me everywhere?" Jaemin pouts as Donghyuck tugs on his hand. They walk through the corridor and past a few people before reaching the room they were meant to be in. 

"Because you're my best friend and I need your support," Donghyuck turns around and blows Jaemin a kiss. "Now come on, the talk starts in like two minutes."

"How long will it last?" Jaemin asks once they've taken a seat in the middle of the hall. It resembles a lecture room and Jaemin shudders at the sudden memory of assignments. 

"It's about an hour long."

"I have to suffer for an hour?" Jaemin groans, leaning into the table with a sigh. "Donghyuck, I don't even do all this computer science, coding shit. I'm a training doctor, but here I am."

"And?" Donghyuck rolls his eyes, swatting Jaemin's hands away from his phone. "You're not allowed to use your phone."

"What kind of hell is this?" Donghyuck chooses to ignore Jaemin's comment and instead, eyes the person who walks through the doors he passed a while ago. "Whoo, who's that?"

"I'm not sure," Donghyuck mutters, frowning as he watches the unusually attractive stranger walk over to the middle of the lecture hall. His presence causes everyone to quieten down.

The stranger talks to one of the other guys gathered around the middle. Donghyuck had never seen him before, maybe he was an intern? Of course, like every person in the hall right now (except for Jaemin), Donghyuck had searched up the people who were going to be hosting the talk. 

There was Johnny Seo, the tallest one out of the three gathered in the middle. He had his hair slicked back and the navy blue suit looked great on him. But his looks weren't all. He was the person Donghyuck looked up at the most. He was smart, funny and easy to talk to. Donghyuck had never spoken to Johnny, of course, but he had heard things about him. 

Then standing right beside him was Jung Jaehyun,  _ what an eye candy _ , Donghyuck thought as he stared at him. He was also good looking, and Donghyuck wondered if they had a requirement to be handsome to get the job. Donghyuck knew a lot about him as well, he was well known in the industry. He had designed a program that changed a lot of things in their company and Donghyuck didn't know what he did in his past life to be in the same room as him.

But then there was that stranger, who was also cute as hell. Donghyuck hadn't ever heard about him, so he assumed he was someone new. Then again, if he was someone new, why would he be close with Jaehyun and Johnny, some of the most respected employee's?

"Welcome, everyone," the stranger's voice snaps Donghyuck out of his daydream and he realised that the guy was staring straight at him. It makes him cower away, a little. (Jaemin notices and grabs his hand under the table, giving him the support he had asked for). "I'm guessing you all don't know who I am."

A few murmurs pass around the hall as the strangers' lips tug into a smile. He glances around the room and then places his hands on the table in front of him. 

"It may come to you as a surprise, but you're looking at the CEO of the company." As the words leave the strangers mouth, Donghyuck's jaw drops. This odd guy who had appeared out of nowhere was supposed to be Mark Lee? The CEO of the company? He looked too young, in Donghyuck's opinion. Probably just a year or two older than him. Mark Lee had never made a public appearance in the four years the company had been up and working. It made a bit of sense now. "I know, I know. I am pretty young for my role in the company, but does that really matter. My age was not what I came here to discuss, but in fact, a project that we've been working on."

Donghyuck lets out a shaky breath as Mark taps a few buttons on the remote he was holding. The screen behind him reveals a few ideas that their company had been developing for the past few months, and Donghyuck finds himself lost in his own world. 

The time flies past quicker than Donghyuck had expected it to and the hour-long talk finishes with Mark telling them that they can all apply for internships. 

"You should apply," Jaemin nudges his elbow as they begin to walk out of the hall.

"I don't even know what the criteria for applying is yet," Donghyuck shakes his head and scrolls through the company's website. "Plus, I'm really close to completing the courses I started last month. With those, I'll have a better chance when applying at places."

"Still! Apply," Jaemin grabs his arm and forces him to turn his way. "I know you're probably just scared of what would happen if you  _ do _ get accepted, or what would happen if you don't. However, stop worrying about that! I know you're great, you know you're great, they'll also know that you're great."

"That's not true," Donghyuck pulls his arm away from Jaemins and starts making his way to the cafeteria. (They invited them over to have some food before leaving and who was Donghyuck to deny the offer?) "You know that I just about scraped my grade, and I'm sure they'll have a proper record of my results."

"You stress too much, Donghyuck," Jaemin sighs as he gives up on trying to convince his friend into applying for the company of his dreams. "What's the harm in trying? If you don't get in, that's their loss!"

"And embarrassing for me," Donghyuck retorts, picking one of the glasses of juice at the entrance of the place.

Jaemin quiets down for a while as they collect some food and take a seat near the far end of the hall. He looks a little tired and Donghyuck feels bad for dragging him out to attend to something that he had no interest in. But Donghyuck was sure that he won't have gotten through the hall doors if his best friend wasn't there with him. He knows being dependent on someone isn't good, it isn't healthy, but he can't help himself sometimes. 

"Is this seat taken?" Someone asks from behind Donghyuck. Jaemin raises his head to reply to the person, so Donghyuck doesn't make much of an effort to react. 

"Oh—uh, no," Jaemin stutters and Donghyuck snickers under his breath at his nervousness. Why was he so worried? The person sits beside Donghyuck, which makes him a little uncomfortable because there was a seat next to Jaemin. "What comes that you're sitting with us, Mr Lee?"

"Oh please, call me Mark. I find it awkward when people around my age call me that." 

Donghyuck freezes as he realises that Mark Lee is sitting next to him. Why was Mark sitting there? Was there something that he needed? Did he know who Donghyuck's dad was, was that the reason? It most probably was, practically everyone knew Donghyuck's dad. Even Jaemin knew his dad, and they met when they had just joined year 7. It was a little disappointing when he thought about it in that way. Ever since he was younger, people only came up to him to talk to him because of his dad or because they needed a favour. 

Donghyuck slumps in his seat as his thoughts continue to flood his mind. But before they can get too much, Donghyuck feels Jaemin kick his leg from underneath the table. 

"Hey, Mark asked you a question," Jaemin says with a small smile. Donghyuck nods and then tilts his head to glance over at Mark, who seemed to have moved a little further away from him. 

"Sorry, what did you ask?" Donghyuck mumbles.

"I was just wondering what your name was," Mark asks, and  _ oh _ . It wasn't because of his dad, for once. 

"Lee Donghyuck," he answers, nodding as Mark beams at him. 

"Are you thinking about applying for the internship?"

"I'm not quite sure if I will," Donghyuck clears his throat awkwardly. He just told the CEO of the company he loves that he might not apply for the internship. When the light in Mark's eyes dulls after his response, Donghyuck feels even worse for saying that. "I mean, I might!"

"Are you too busy?" Mark asks with genuine concern in his voice. He seems so affected by Donghyuck's rejection. It's a little amusing. 

"Kind of. I've been doing a lot of courses over the summer to strengthen my application," Donghyuck explains as Mark nods, looking impressed by his efforts. It really wasn't much, at least not compared to the people he was classmates with not long ago. They already had jobs and passed through many different online schools. Donghyuck's dad always stopped him from going to work, saying it wasn't safe for him to go. (He was over eighteen years old, but even then his dad didn't let him go).

"If you apply for the internship, we could arrange our schedule to fit yours," Mark suggests. 

Donghyuck honestly doesn't know what to say. How can you say no to something like that? The guy who was the most important in the company just came to him and said that if he gets into the program he'll even get help with his schedule. Donghyuck was speechless. 

"You can think about that if you want," Mark says as he gets up from his seat, pulling out a card from his pocket. "If you ever want to apply, just call on that number and we'll arrange an interview for you."

Before Donghyuck has any time to react, the card is pushed into his hands and Mark hurriedly leaves the cafe. Donghyuck can hear Jaemin cackling beside him, but he's more interested in what Mark had just said. Jaemin and Mark were right. What's the harm in applying? He has nothing to lose (except some self-confidence, maybe).

  
  
  
  
  
  


-

  
  
  
  
  


"Father," Donghyuck says once he reaches home. He's sitting in his living room, back straightened and his dad was looking at him with a curious look. "You know how I graduated from uni 5 months ago."

"Mhm," his dad hums, glancing down at the file he was checking through.

"I was thinking," he clears his throat and runs his clammy hands against his jeans. "About finally applying to places for an internship?"

"An internship?" His dad echoes, eyes darting up to meet Donghyuck before falling back onto his file. "You can always apply to our company."

"I thought about that!" Donghyuck exclaims, hope flowing through him because his dad didn't just flat out reject his idea of working. "But then I thought about it seriously, practically. You told me only just a few months ago that you have enough people in the web development area of your company. You even told me that if you were to hire me, the others would get annoyed that I got accepted without a proper check."

"But you don't need to worry about what everyone else thinks," his dad assures him and the conversation ends with the way his dad flips to another page. Donghyuck shuffles around in the silent room and dreads every second of it. Donghyuck was so ready for applying at Mark's place, but his dad would be the issue. 

The silence stretches for a while longer until his dad gets tired of his constant fidgeting. 

"Alright, tell me what's going on," his dad sighs and takes his glasses off, his scrutinizing gaze making Donghyuck think twice before speaking. 

"There's this place I want to do an internship at," he explains, using his hands to emphasise how badly he wants to go there. "I went to talk there and they explained what the entire program is going to be like. I even have the card they gave to people to apply."

"You do?" Donghyuck knows he's done something wrong when his dad puts his glasses back on and returns his focus to his file. "If you've planned that far, what's the point in asking me about it?"

Donghyuck realises his mistake and almost groans out loud. 

"Father," he whines, switching his plan, and gets up from his seat. His large clothes make it look as if he's drowning in them and he knows that this tactic would probably work better than his previous one. "You know how much I love my degree, and you also know how much I would love to work at Lee Tech."

At the mention of Lee Tech, his dad snaps his head up in surprise. 

"You want to work in that place?" Donghyuck nods slowly, unsure about what to do with the sudden change of the mood, and his dad smiles at him. "I know a few people there."

"You do? How did I not know this before?" Donghyuck walks over to his dad and crouches beside his seat. "Anyways, Father, I really want to work there. I don't want you to think I'm doing this without your permission, that's why I'm here asking you if it's okay. If you say no, I'll understand, but I really do want to go there."

Donghyuck mutters another small 'please' before poking his bottom lip out. His dad is weak against him as he takes a few sniffles. He knows he's acting like a child, but that's the only way to get his dad to ever listen to him. A few moments go by and his dad gives in. 

"Fine, you can apply there," his dad says, shaking his head with a fond look on his face. "Good luck, and if you don't get in, there's always space for you at ours."

"I know," Donghyuck gets up and gives his dad a quick hug. "Thanks, Father, I love you."

"I love you too," his dad dismisses Donghyuck with a shake of his head, but Donghyuck catches the smile that blossomed on his face when he said that.

  
  
  
  
  
  


-

  
  
  
  
  
  


"He said yes?" Jaemin asks giddily. The smile on his face beating Donghyuck's when he jumps into a hug. "Finally!'

"I know right," Donghyuck chuckles as they walk into the cafe. "I was almost thinking he'd never say yes."

"Don't be dramatic," Jaemin slaps his arm. "Your dad would've come about it one day or another."

"I'm glad that one day was yesterday," Donghyuck sighs before turning to the cashier. He chants his usual order and then waits for Jaemin to say his. As he leans against the counter, Donghyuck looks around the cafe. It's still the same as it was four years ago when they first opened. It became the cafe he always visited with Jaemin because of their range in choices and variety of food.

The only thing that probably changed was the colour of the store. From silver-blue, it became a dark red. Donghyuck liked the change, it made the cafe look warmer. He has a serious addiction with warm things for some strange reason.

"Let's sit?" Jaemin says once he orders. Donghyuck nods and they take a seat at their usual table. 

"You know," Donghyuck pouts and leans forward. "Remember the dream I told you about a few years back?"

"Yeah."

"I've been having them again," Jaemin raises his eyebrows and then nods as a gesture for Donghyuck to continue. "It's the same dream, just less blurry."

"So have you figured out anything other than a child and adult?" Jaemin was the second person to find out about his dream. After he had cried in his dad's arms and finally stopped shaking, Donghyuck had called Jaemin that night. Instead of shrugging his dream away and trying to distract him from it, Jaemin had suggested that Donghyuck tried understanding the dream. He guessed that maybe it was something that might happen in the future or something that had happened in the past. It could also just be his mind morphing a different situation into a more horrifying one.

"Not much," Donghyuck sulks. "I only realised that I'm the kid who's running away."

Jaemin begins to say something when the door to the cafe opens. The annoying chiming sound that Donghyuck had complained about multiple times rings through the cafe and they both turn to see who entered.

"Mark Lee?" Donghyuck whispers to himself when he recognises who the new customer was. Somehow, Mark hears Donghyuck and snaps his head to look at him. His furrowed eyebrows rise immediately and a smile takes over his face.

"Donghyuck, right?" Mark says as he walks over to their table. Jaemin clears his throat when Donghyuck stays silent. 

"Yeah, yeah. That's me," Donghyuck coughs out. Mark awkwardly looks between Donghyuck and Jaemin until the youngest out of all of them gets up from his seat "Where are you going?"

"Did I forget to mention?" Jaemin sends a wink his way. "I have an appointment to get to, I'll see you later, Donghyuck."

"What appointment-" Jaemin grabs his drink and packet of food as soon as the waitress places it on their table and reaches over to pat Donghyuck's face. Ignoring the glare Donghyuck sends his way, Jaemin rushes out of the cafe after bowing at Mark.

"Can I?" Mark looks over at the chair Jaemin was seated on a while ago, and then back at Donghyuck.

"Sure," Donghyuck runs a hand through his hair and then takes a sip of his milkshake. "Do you come here often?"

"No," Mark answers. "I thought I had seen you through the window and so came in to check. I was right."

Donghyuck feels heat burn his cheeks at Mark's honesty, and he averts his gaze to the wooden table, appearing even more conscious knowing that Mark was still looking at him. 

"So," Mark says after a couple of minutes (which consisted of Donghyuck taking noisy sips of his drink). "Did you think about the internship?"

"I did," Donghyuck mutters, spinning his cup. "I thought about it."

"Are you going to apply?" Mark asks with wide eyes filled with anticipation. Donghyuck was already going to say yes, but looking at his excited expression, he wondered who could say no to him. 

"Yeah," Donghyuck finally replies, and Mark's shoulder slumps down in relief. "I asked my father if I could apply and he said yes."

"Your dad? How old are you?"

"I'm 22."

"You're 22 and need your dad's permission to apply for an internship?" Mark questions with a serious look on his face. It's something he gets a lot. People find it weird that Donghyuck has to ask his dad before doing something, but they wouldn't understand his reasoning. 

"He's protective of me," Donghyuck explains. "My mother died when I was younger, so I didn't really have a motherly figure in my life, causing my father to take responsibility for two people. He's nice, he really is. And he cares a lot for me, he's just a little protective."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear about your mum," Mark lowers his head.

"No, no! Don't be," Donghyuck smiles. "She passed away when I was much younger, and I barely remember anything from when I was a kid."

"You don't?" Mark looks a little disappointed to know that and it makes Donghyuck feel strange. Was it not normal for people to not remember their childhood? Donghyuck can't seem to recall anything from when he was 9 and younger, but that was normal, right?

Mark's phone rings in the middle of their conversation, and they both jump at the sound. Mark chuckles at Donghyuck's surprised face and picks the call, the tone of his voice completely different from the one he was using to talk to Donghyuck. It was more serious, and somehow his voice sounded deeper than usual. Was he speaking to Donghyuck sweetly on purpose? Or had he not realised? 

"I have to go," Mark states once his call ends. He looks frustrated to have to cut their meeting short, but weirdly enough so does Donghyuck. "You're going to apply, right?"

Donghyuck laughs at his insisting and nods. "Yeah, I'm going to apply."

Mark shoots Donghyuck one last smile before leaving the cafe. Watching the older walk through the cafe doors reminds Donghyuck of something, he just can't seem to understand what it was.

  
  
  
  


-

  
  
  
  
  


"You can do it," Jaemin calls out to him from the car. Donghyuck shoots him a dirty look from over his shoulder, but when he turns back around he smiles to himself. Jaemin was always there for him and he didn't know how to thank him for that. 

When Donghyuck called the number on the card a week ago, he was a little reluctant to actually book an appointment. Fear flooded him and he wasn't quite sure if he was going to be good enough to apply there. But of course, Jaemin hung up on him and barged straight into his house without a worry in his mind. He had dropped down next to Donghyuck and helped him make the call, the reassuring smile on his face was enough to give the older confidence to speak. 

"Lee Donghyuck," he says to the receptionist when she asks for his name. With a polite nod, she holds a hand up to one of the corridors and tells him what room he needs to go to. 

Donghyuck thanks her before hurrying over to the corner. It wasn't as if he was late, in fact, he was a good twenty minutes early in case he got into some traffic. Making a good impression for the company was what mattered most, even if that meant he had to skip getting his daily coffee. 

As Donghyuck reaches the end of the corridor and comes to face the door, he realises that there's a long line of people ahead of him. He could've gotten his coffee, to be honest. 

"How old are you?" The guy who Donghyuck sits next to asks. He looks a little surprised to see Donghyuck, maybe it's because he looks younger than he is.

"22," he answers and feels uncomfortable under the man's gaze. His luck comes through and the man gets called in. The way he walks into the room looks a bit suspicious as if he was holding his head up too high, and the way he leaves only a few minutes later with a scowl on his face tells Donghyuck that he was definitely not getting the job. 

"Lee Donghyuck?" The mentioned boy glances up to see Mark standing by the door, a faint smile on his face. Everyone else around them is confused by their strange interaction and even groan when Donghyuck gets up to enter the office.  _ They came before me _ , he notes, but Mark had called him in first. Why? "Take a seat, I've read through your file."

Donghyuck silently sits down and Mark sighs. 

"So, how are you?" Mark asks. 

Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. "I'm fine."

"That's good," Mark smiles. "So what do you think, fruits or vegetables?" 

"Fruits?" Donghyuck replies in a confused tone, but Mark pays no mind to it. Instead, he continues. 

"What do you think my favourite fruit is?" Mark's questions were way off-topic and nothing like what Donghyuck had prepared himself for. But instead of questioning the meaning of it all, Donghyuck answered. 

"Watermelon?" Mark's smile widens. 

"And so far, how much do you like me?" Donghyuck's mind stops working for a moment.  _ What _ ? Did Donghyuck hear that correctly? Was Mark asking him whether or not he liked him? 

"Excuse me?" Donghyuck splutters and Mark finally eases his teasing grin. 

"Do you know how to play snooker?" Mark leans back in his chair and Donghyuck has no idea what's going on. 

"I played it a few times, but I'm not very good," he clears his throat and sits up. "Uhm, are these the questions you're supposed to ask?"

"I'm just creating a mood," Mark says with the same teasing glint in his eyes. Donghyuck knows he's just trying to be friendly and ease his nerves, but not knowing where the conversation was going made him tenser. 

"You got a 1:1 in your degree," Mark finally opens his file and points at his certificate. "You've completed a few courses here and there, and even done some work experience at…"

Mark pauses as he stares down at the file. Donghyuck looks at him expectantly when he turns his head up. 

"You worked at MSI?" Mark asks.

"Yeah," Donghyuck hates talking about his work experience at his dad's company. Mostly because people assume he got it without any questions asked, but in fact only after a thousand scenarios were thrown at him (that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the questioning procedure was dreadful) and he was given multiple practical things to test did he get the place. "You see, it's my dad's company."

"Oh," Mark nods, flipping the page. "You're the son of Lee Heechul?"

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Donghyuck looks at Mark's blank expression and wonders what he did wrong. 

"No, of course not." The conversation ends there. Mark continues to flip through his file with a neutral look and then places it on the table. "What did you think about the project that I mentioned in the talk?"

"It was interesting," Donghyuck replied, feeling his heart beat faster as he realises that this was the reason he had come here. "I had heard that a few other companies were trying the same thing, however."

"There's always someone there to copy you, and honestly nothing is ever original," Mark smiles and then asks him another few questions. Donghyuck blushes every time he accidentally stutters, but then Mark says, "Nobody's perfect, Donghyuck."

Just as Donghyuck was about to say he understood, Mark continued. "I'm nobody."

_ Lame _ , Donghyuck thinks but smiles nonetheless.

Mark suddenly stands up and only then does Donghyuck realise that they had hit the half an hour mark. "Anyways, Lee Donghyuck."

"Yes?" Donghyuck follows him and stands up.

"I'll be looking forward to seeing you next week on Monday. The group that you'll be part of will be under my supervision." Mark shakes Donghyuck's hand. "It was nice talking to you again. We should probably meet up outside of work as well."

"Sure."  _ Donghyuck had gotten in. _

"See you later," Mark nods and then gestures towards the door. 

"Goodbye," Donghyuck says before turning around and exiting the room. He had gotten in. Donghyuck had gotten in. "I got in!" He screams once he gets into Jaemin's car. Jaemin looks surprised by his sudden outburst but then starts rejoicing with him.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


-

  
  
  
  
  


"Well done, Hyuckie," his dad says to him when he tells him that he got into the internship. "I knew you could do it."

"Thanks, dad," Donghyuck leans forwards and gets engulfed into an embrace by his dad. He closes his eyes and enjoys the comforting warmth he felt in his chest. His dad was always there for him, despite being a little restricting, he tried his best to pamper Donghyuck as much as he could.

When Donghyuck was younger and had found out about a console that everyone in his school had besides him, his dad was quick to get it, even though they were a little short on money at that time. His dad loved him and Donghyuck loved him back. They were happy, without a mother/wife, but they were happy together. 

"I have a question," Donghyuck says once they part and start watching TV. His dad blinks away from the TV and nods for him to continue. "Have you ever thought about remarrying?"

"Hm?" He looks startled by the question. "I did, once."

"You did?" Donghyuck perks up. His dad had never shown interest in anyone after his mum died, so he assumed he wasn't looking for another life partner. "When?"

"When you were just 15," his dad starts, looking a little lost in thoughts. "I met this girl once, she was cute and just a few years younger than me. We spoke for a couple of months and I thought about starting a new relationship, but I wasn't sure how you would feel about it. So then I told her that I couldn't be with her, and we ended whatever we had." 

"Dad," Donghyuck sits up with a frown on his face. "I would never stop you from being happy. You can be with someone else. I loved Mother, but I don't exactly have any memories of her either. I would be fine with you finding someone new."

"I know," his dad sighs and turns the volume to the TV up. He wants to end the conversation. "It doesn't matter anyway, she moved on and I only realised you would be fine with it too late."

Donghyuck feels guilt creep into him. His dad had stopped a potential relationship because of him. He wanted his dad to be happy, and he wants to talk more about the issue, but his dad looks uncomfortable and unhappy. He doesn't want to disturb him any further. 

Donghyuck stays silent the whole evening.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


-

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"It was the same dream again?" Seulgi asks, not looking surprised. They're sitting in Donghyuck's room, a week's passed and it's their session time again.

Donghyuck hums. "Mhm."

"Do you think this dream is something you imagined or," Seulgi pauses and blinks at him. "Or was it a memory you've lost."

"A memory I've lost?" Donghyuck sniffles. Seulgi looks at his reddened nose and then at his watery eyes.

"Are you sick?" She asks, worried. 

"I'm fine," Donghyuck smiles, his cheeks warming up because of her concern. "What do you mean by a memory that I've lost?"

"In our previous session, you said that you couldn’t remember certain things from your past, perhaps it could be something from then?" Seulgi inquires. "Or it could be a certain thing you’ve read before that you’re now portraying as something that happened to you?"

"It could be. Whenever I think about my childhood, when I was much younger," Donghyuck sighs, tired. "I can't recall any clear memories. It's all a little...blurry."

"Blurry?" Seulgi echoes.

"I remember some things, but whenever I think about my mother," Donghyuck grimaces as nothing comes to his mind, other than the picture of his parents and him that was hanging up in their living room. "It's just empty."

"Maybe your dream is linked to that?" She suggests, an encouraging look on her face. "Maybe the adult that's running away with you was your mother?"

"But what would we be running away from?" Donghyuck frowns.

Seulgi opens his mouth to say something when someone enters the room. "Donghyuck," his dad says, looking stressed. "I heard that you were feeling sick."

Donghyuck glances up at him and then at Seulgi, who only smiles at him sweetly. She was always smiling. 

"I'm fine, Father," Donghyuck says, rubbing his nose with his wrist. "Don't worry."

"I'm sorry, Miss Kang," his dad apologises and then kneels next to Donghyuck. "You need to rest.”

"I'm fine!" Donghyuck chuckles, but his voice sounds stuffed. 

"Don't worry, Donghyuck," Seulgi gets up from her seat and ruffles his hair. "We can continue another time, over the phone perhaps if the fever or sickness gets any worse, okay?"

Donghyuck pouts but nods along. His dad stands up to guide Seulgi out and sends Donghyuck one last worried look before leaving. 

With a sigh, Donghyuck collapses into his bed, his head spinning from the movement. He wasn't sick, well maybe a little, but he was sure he would get over it soon. He didn't get sick much, always had a good immune system ever since he was a child. Jaemin gets sick quite easily. He could spend a few hours outside on a cold chilly day and he wouldn't be able to stop sneezing for a while. Then later once he'd get sick and Donghyuck would scold him because of his lack of layers. 

"Donghyuck," his dad returns through the doors and sits on the edge of the bed. "I think you have a fever."

His dad presses the back of his hand against Donghyuck's forehead and he must be burning, because he pulls away just as quickly. "Baby, you need rest."

"Okay, okay," Donghyuck mumbles, looking up at his dad with a fond look. "I'll get rest, don't worry."

His dad brushes his hair away before leaving the room to get medicines. Donghyuck takes that time to pull his phone out and send Jaemin a message. 

_ hyuckie ♡ _

_ imsick  _

_ jaeminnie ♡ _

_ how sad _

_ hyuckie ♡ _

_ D:  _

_ jaeminnie ♡ _

_ I'm joking bby what's wrong _

_ hyuckie ♡ _

_ fever :(  _

_ had to cut my session with Miss Kang short _

_ jaeminnie ♡ _

_ was seulgi fine with it _

_ hyuckie ♡ _

_ mhm _

_ but I couldn't help feeling bad about it _

_ jaeminnie ♡ _

_ why ??? _

_ hyuckie ♡ _

_ she comes all the way to my house every week because I get scared going over to hers _

_ and then only half an hour in she had to leave _

_ I had only started opening up as well !! _

_ jaeminnie ♡ _

_ awh bbie don't worry :D _

_ I'm sure she didn't mind  _

_ Your well being is more important okay _

_ hyuckie ♡ _

_ okay :( _

_ can u come over? _

_ jaeminnie ♡ _

_ give me 10 mins _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


-

  
  
  
  
  
  


"It might be contagious," Donghyuck warns Jaemin when he pulls the blanket up. The blue-haired boy shoots Donghyuck a glare and climbs onto the bed. 

"As if that would stop me," he comments once they're snuggled in together. Donghyuck's fevers gone down a little, but only now has everything crashed into him. His head has been aching and his stomach keeps churning. Maybe it was something he ate. "You have your first day as an intern tomorrow." Donghyuck completely forgot about that.

"I'll go," he sighs. He has to, he can't miss his first day. 

"You won't go," Jaemin shakes his head and grabs his cheeks, crushing them together with his hands. "You're sick and need to get as much rest as you can."

"I'll be fine in the morning," Donghyuck dismisses. "Like I've said multiple times before—"

"I have a good immune system," Jaemin mocks him before he can say it and the older huffs. "I know, Hyuckie, but what if your fever suddenly gets worse whilst you're there?"

"Then I'll have to manage with it," Donghyuck takes a deep breath before kicking the blanket off the two. "I feel hot."

"Should I turn the AC on?" Jaemin starts to get up but Donghyuck quickly stops him. 

"No, no," he smiles. "It's fine, Jaemin."

They fall into hushed chatter as Donghyuck takes deep breaths to cool himself down. The headaches stinging at the back of his eyes and he knows he should get rest, but Jaemin came all the way to his house to take care of him. He couldn't possibly just fall asleep within his presence. 

"Go to sleep," Jaemin says in the middle of a sentence when he catches Donghyuck's eyes dropping. 

"No, I'm fine," Donghyuck slurs, immediately cursing in his mind. 

"If you don't go to sleep, I promise I will leave you alone," Jaemin threatens, already pulling the blanket off himself.

"No!" Donghyuck whines, throwing himself forward to cling onto Jaemin's arm. "Stay with me."

"Then you have to sleep."

Donghyuck pouts at his request, but his own will gives upon him. The exhaustion of feeling sick and being tired washing upon him and he lets out a deep breath. He misses the way Jaemin runs a hand through his hair before placing a kiss on his head.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


-

  
  
  
  
  
  


_ There it is again _ , Donghyuck thinks as he watches two figures run in the darkness of the night. They pass through an empty street, through the puddles whilst hushing at each other whenever a sound escapes the two. He doesn't know what's going on. He eyes the way his childhood self looks oblivious to what's going on as well. Perhaps this was just his imagination. 

All of a sudden, yells were heard and the scene shifts. Donghyuck finds himself standing on the edge of a bridge, looking down at the figures run into a train that had been parked. The doors barely manage to close when a man appears by the entrance. He can see the fear written on all of their faces. They look so scared, so terrified as if seeing each other makes them even more worried. 

"Please, for the love of God, let us go!" One of the figures speaks out, dropping to their knees. They sound familiar as if Donghyuck heard their voice before. He can't seem to pinpoint it just yet so just opts to lean down and try to get a better look. "Tell him you couldn't find us! Tell him we're dead, just please let us go!"

The figure on their knees holds their hands up to the one by the entrance. The train seems to be motionless — it's the middle of the night, no trains would be operating at the moment. 

The man stares down at the figure with a guilty face, a look of despair and sadness. Why was everyone so sad? 

"I'm sorry, Mrs Kim," the man reaches for his pocket and the figure — Mrs Kim — bursts into tears, already knowing what's to come. 

Wait— Mrs Kim? Donghyuck's eyes widen as a thought flashes through his mind. That couldn't possibly be his mum, could it? What other adult would be with him when he was a child, and that would explain why their voice sounded so familiar. 

"I'm begging, Minjae," she crawls over to the man's feet and lowers her head. Donghyuck grimaces in disgust. What was she doing? "Please, let us go."

"Mrs Kim, please don't make it harder than it is already," the man — Minjae — takes a step back, leaving his mum to collapse against the floor. His childhood self looks between the two in confusion as his mum continues to sob into the floor. "It's his orders, I can't deny them."

"Minjae, please!" She yells, getting up from the ground to look at him with a devastating look. "I beg of you, I beg. Please spare us. We won't tell anyone. We'll remain silent, I won't tell anyone anything. I promise, I really promise. I won't, I won't, I won't—"

Donghyuck's breath hitches as he sees Minjae point a gun straight at his mum's head. Her rambling comes to a stop as she holds her hands in defence. 

"Not here," she whispers, eyes locked on the gun. "Not in front of Donghyuck."

Minjae doesn't seem to register the words as he shuts his eyes and lets out a shaky breath. 

"Wait," Donghyuck calls out from his position up at the bridge. "Leave her alone."

Minjae doesn't seem bothered by his interruption and keeps the gun pointed at his mum. Donghyuck's heartbeat fastens and he attempts to jump off the bridge. "Leave her alone!"

Donghyuck runs over to where Minjae and his mum are, confused as to why his younger self was doing anything but staring. Who was this Minjae person and why was he harming his mum? 

"Stop! Don't shoot! Don't—" Donghyuck freezes when he sees Minjae pull the trigger and then—

  
  
  
  


"Donghyuck!" Jaemin shakes him awake. "Hyuckie, wake up. It's a dream, it's just a dream."

"Jaemin?" Donghyuck looks up dishevelled, completely out of it. "Nana? Jaemin! Jaemin, wait no! He's going to shoot her, Jaemin! H-he's going to hurt her."

"Hurt who?" Jaemin helps him sit up and Donghyuck takes shallow breaths, his eyes burning from tears and stomach twisting with pain. 

"He-he's gonna hurt her!"

"Hurt who, baby? Hurt who?" Jaemin runs a comforting hand down his arm and Donghyuck takes a moment to remember where he was. He wasn't near a train station standing on a bridge. His mum wasn't there and that Minjae person wasn't there either. It was his dream, the annoying reoccurring one. 

"Jaemin," Donghyuck whispers once he controls himself.

"Donghyuck," Jaemin replies, nodding as he waits for the older. 

"Can you hug me?" He's immediately pulled into an embrace, and although they're both sweating from how hot his room is and Donghyuck burning up, Jaemin tightens his grip. 

They stay like that for a couple of minutes, relishing in each other's soft breaths as Donghyuck calms his nerves down. It was just a dream, none of it was real, but why did it feel like it was? Why was his mum in the dream? 

"Donghyuck," Jaemin says once Donghyuck's gone limp against him. "Who were you talking about?"

"My mother," Donghyuck answers, still unsure of what that meant. 

"Your mother?" Jaemin sounds surprised, and so is Donghyuck to be honest. He never had any dream related to his mum, with no memories with her his mind seemed to erase anything that reminded him of her. Because of that, Donghyuck never spoke about his mum either, forgetting to mention that she was no longer with him and that his dad had taken full responsibility for it. 

"She was in my dream," Donghyuck sighs, confusion causing his headache to worsen. "Look, can we not talk about this right now? I'm really tired and just feel sick and horrible."

"Of course," Jaemin kisses the top of his head and the two let out the breaths they didn't know that they were holding. It wasn't Jaemin's first time seeing Donghyuck panic due to a dream. After the day Donghyuck told Jaemin about his dream, he had come over once and they fell asleep on the sofa. In the middle of the night, Jaemin was awakened by whimpers and cries. He saw Donghyuck crying to himself in his sleep and from then on he was one of the only people Donghyuck could trust with everything. 

"Hey, Donghyuck?"

Donghyuck was almost asleep but woke up by Jaemin's voice. He nods and hums sleepily. 

"It's 7am," Jaemin says softly. "I'm going to call in sick for you."

"I have to go," Donghyuck shakes his head in disagreement, yet makes no move to support his statement. Jaemin gives him another kiss on the head before getting up to call Mark's place. 

"I'll be back, okay?" 

Donghyuck blinks slowly to see Jaemin exit the room with his phone. He tries staying awake and waiting for the younger, but his body fails in him and he falls asleep thinking about his mum once again. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


-

  
  
  
  
  
  


The next time Donghyuck wakes up it's 6 in the evening. His back hurts from the awkward position he slept in and he still feels a little sick. A hands stroking through his hair and it cups his cheek when he lets out a whine. 

"Hey, Duckie," he hears Jaemin say to him in a hushed voice. "How are you doing? Need any water? Food?"

"Sleep," Donghyuck answers, but still forces himself to sit up. Jaemin holds his arm and assists him before they both sigh. "Why are you here?"

"I couldn't leave you when you're sick," Jaemin sounds offended that Donghyuck even thought he wouldn't stay. 

"Of course, of course. But didn't you have training today?" Donghyuck leans into Jaemin's hand that was on his cheek. 

Jaemin glares at him before replying. "You're more important."

"You won't be saying that when you get a call from Sicheng and he bursts your ear drums because you took a day off."

Jaemin immediately grimaces at the thought. Sicheng, the senior doctor in the clinic, was an absolute angel and treated everyone like they were his own kids. But if they ever took a day off and it wasn't for a valid reason, he would take their souls away. Once, Jaemin had called Donghyuck in to meet Sicheng and one of his colleagues had just so happened to have taken a day off yesterday. When Sicheng laid eyes upon him, Donghyuck swears he's never heard his voice go that loud before. 

"If he hears it was for you, he'll let me off," Jaemin winks at Donghyuck, who pushes him away with a groan. For some weird reason, Sicheng was extra kind towards Donghyuck, perhaps it was because of who his dad was, but Donghyuck never liked thinking too much into it. 

"Where's father?" Donghyuck stretched his arms as Jaemin stood up from his seat.

"He's downstairs, worked from home in case anything happened to you."

"He didn't have to work from home just for me," Donghyuck mutters as he holds a hand out to Jaemin, who gladly accepts it and pulls the older into his arms. "I didn't want to be a burden."

"And you weren't," Jaemin replies, helping Donghyuck lean against him. His fever was already decreasing, but he had no strength. "You're his only son, I'm pretty sure it's alright for him to take a day off for his child."

"Still," Donghyuck whines, tucking himself into Jaemin's neck as they began their journey downstairs. 

"No, no still." Jaemin shakes his head. "He's allowed to want to take care of you, Donghyuck."

The boy pouts and looks up at Jaemin, who turns his face away from him and lets out a huff. "Fine, whatever."

"Now that's like a good boy." Jaemin leans away laughing as Donghyuck tries to hit on the head. The sound of their laughter echoes in the hallway and within seconds Donghyuck sees his dad appear with a worried look.

"Donghyuck," he says, hurrying over to him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Father," Donghyuck chuckles and then clings onto his dad. "Why did you take a day off from work?"

"You were sick, I couldn't possibly concentrate at work knowing you were at home suffering," his dad's eyebrows furrow and he looks so cute, Donghyuck reaches up to pinch his cheek. 

"Cute," he giggles as his dad pulls away in annoyance. Donghyuck opens his mouth to say something until he catches sight of someone in the living room. "Who's that?"

His dad follows his line of sight to the black haired male sitting on the sofa with his back facing them and then looks back at Donghyuck. "Someone I met at a meeting the other day, you may like him."

They enter the room and the man stands up, only resulting in Donghyuck's jaw dropping because  _ that was Mark Lee _ . 

"Oh, Donghyuck," Mark says, a smile breaking out of his face. "Are you feeling better? I got a call saying you were sick and unable to come today."

"Uhm—yeah, I'm fine," Donghyuck clears his throat and suddenly feels very conscious of what he was wearing. He was only in his sweatpants and shirt, he felt embarrassed. 

"You two know each other?" Donghyuck's dad looked between the two in surprise. 

"Ah, yes. I'm the one who's going to be supervising Donghyuck's group of interns at the company."

The conversation flows smoothly and Donghyuck finds himself relaxing as they continue speaking. His dad seems to be close with Mark as they make jokes and talk about future plans. It seems strange that two CEOs of companies that are part of the same industry and were meant to be rivals were in fact friends, but Donghyuck didn't pay much mind to it. (Even if their age difference shocked him).

"It's getting late, Heechul, I should get going," Mark says after an hour or so. Donghyuck's dad looks up at the clock and then shakes his head.

"It's nearly time for dinner, Mark. Why don't you stay over and eat with us?" Mark looks reluctant at first, constantly shooting glances at the clock, but then gives in when Heechul asks one more time. "Great! I'll tell them to set the table right away. Donghyuck? Keep Mark company, will you?"

His dad leaves before he can answer and Jaemin follows him through the doors, for whatever reason. The sound of their breathing is the only thing they can hear until Mark opens his mouth. 

"If you're still feeling sick, you don't have to come in tomorrow," he says, giving Donghyuck a concerned look. 

"I'm fine," Donghyuck replies, shooting him a grateful smile. "My fever has gone down and I'm sure by tomorrow I'll have all my energy back."

"Are you sure, I don't want to force you to come even though you're not healthy enough." Mark looks so genuinely worried, it warms Donghyuck's heart.

"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine." To emphasise his point, Donghyuck sits up straight and sends Mark a thumbs up. “Thank you for your concern.”

Mark sends him one last smile before they get called for dinner. 

  
  
  
  
  


-

  
  
  


“It’s your first day, how are you feeling?” Mark asks as they walk through the building. Donghyuck was scared as hell but there was no way he was going to tell Mark that.

“I’m excited,” he lies, forcing a smile onto his face. Mark was quick to return it before leading him into a large room. There were a few people scattered across the room, most of them were talking and Donghyuck was left to assume that they didn’t have much work to do or were waiting for a meeting.

“This is the place that you will be working for the next 3 months,” Mark gestured to the people around them, who then turned around to give Donghyuck a nod. “They’re all front-end developers and have been working on something together for a client recently.”

Mark continues to explain stuff to Donghyuck as they walk around. A few of the people Mark was gesturing to come up and introduce themselves. As Donghyuck was still feeling nervous, he ends up stuttering out a response and immediately forgets what the person's name was as they move along. 

"You seem overwhelmed," Mark points out once they stop by an empty desk. 

Donghyuck looks down, flustered. "Just a little."

"Let's get you seated, you might not have recovered completely from yesterday," Mark says as they enter the small kitchen area. He pulls a chair out and Donghyuck takes a seat, a little shy with the way Mark looks down at him. "In your group, there's a lot of people that are older than you, but there's one your age."

"There is?" Donghyuck asks, excited by the news.

Mark nods, looking equally as happy. "His name's Renjun, I think he was sent downstairs for some ID badge checks." Mark looks around the corner and then turns back to Donghyuck. "We should get yours done by today as well."

Within seconds Donghyuck finds himself following Mark into another room and he realises that it was going to be one long day.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


-

  
  
  
  
  


Exhausted and finally done with the day, Donghyuck climbed the car his dad had sent for him. He reaches over to greet the driver, who smiles back at him before leaning into his seat. Donghyuck almost falls asleep when his phone starts ringing. 

"Hello?" He says into his phone, his eyes screwed shut as he fights a headache. 

"Donghyuck?" Seulgi's voice plays in his head a second time until he comes to his senses. "Donghyuck, are you okay?"

"Ah! I'm fine," he hurriedly says, eyes darting up to meet the drivers worried ones. "I'm just really tired right now."

"Oh, I understand. I'll call you later." Seulgi almost ends the call when Donghyuck speaks up again.

"No, no," he sighs before sitting up. "We can speak right now."

"Are you sure, I wouldn't want to stop you from getting rest."

"I'm sure," Donghyuck smiles to himself as Seulgi agrees with him. "Did you call so that we could finish our session over the phone?"

"Mhm," she hums. "I figured there may be things you wanted to speak to me about, especially after our previous conversation. And if I do say so myself, I was a little intrigued by what you were saying.

"If I remember correctly," she clears her throat, sounding more friendly than before. "We were talking about how there's a possibility that your mum was who you were running away with."

Donghyuck remembers his latest dream and gasps at the knowledge. "Actually," he starts, straightening his back as his mind starts working again. "I had the dream again last night." Seulgi hums in acknowledgement and Donghyuck continues. "It was just like what you said, my mother was the one I was running away with. This time my dream was so— it was so clear. It's never been this clear."

"Maybe you're starting to understand it better, or perhaps your brain is beginning to remember things from the period of time you forgot," Seulgi suggests.

"Maybe," he repeats and the two sit in silence for a moment. Donghyuck looks out of the window and watches as the trees go by. 

"Oh wait," Donghyuck cuts their silence. "There was someone else in the dream."

"Are you talking about the person who chases you two?" Seulgi asks. 

Donghyuck hums in agreement. "There's this part where the man chasing us finally corners us. We end up at this train station that I've never seen before and he holds a gun to my mother's head."

"A gun?" Seulgi sounds surprised and a little confused. Donghyuck felt the same. 

"Yeah, I didn't really know what had happened." Donghyuck fiddles with his fingers as he speaks. "One second we're running and the next my mother's falling to her knees begging for the person to leave her alone." 

Seulgi must've been pretty shocked as she remains quiet, encouraging Donghyuck to continue. "She said his name."

"What was it?" Seulgi questions, her voice small. 

"Minjae."

The car swerves to the side before continuing on its normal path. Donghyuck glances up at the driver, who seems to be more focused on the road than before. 

"Minjae?" Seulgi echoes. "Have you ever met this Minjae person before."

"Never in my life," Donghyuck answers just as they pull up at their house. "I've reached home now, Miss Kang."

"Alright! Don't worry, we spoke for over half an hour," Seulgi chuckles and Donghyuck follows in pursuit. "But, if you ever feel like talking to me again, don't hesitate to call me! We'll continue our conversation next week then."

"Of course." Donghyuck opens the door to the car and waves the driver goodbye. As he enters the house, he catches his dad in the living room. "Father!"

"Hyuck!" His dad replies with the same level of enthusiasm. "How was your day?"

"It was great!" Donghyuck beams, hopping onto the sofa beside his dad. "Tiring, but great! I met a lot of people today and they led me through the basics."

"Look at my boy," his dad jokingly wiped a fake tear away before pinching Donghyuck's cheek. "All grown up."

Donghyuck laughs and almost jumps into a rant of what had happened when their driver walks in with a serious face. 

"Mr Lee, can we speak in private for a moment?" He asks. His dad looks annoyed and scoffs. 

"Can't you see I'm talking with my son?" His dad says in a strict manner and Donghyuck feels bad about being in the way of important matters. 

"It's about Jeju Island, Sir," their driver says through gritted teeth and his dad's attitude immediately changes. 

"Donghyuck," he says, turning around to face him. "Can you excuse us for a while? I promise I'll listen to how your day went later."

"It's fine, Father," Donghyuck grins brightly and jumps off the sofa. "We'll talk at dinner."

His dad nods at him as he leaves the room. Donghyuck walks up to his room but can't seem to shake off the strange feeling that was upon him. And why did Jeju Island sound so familiar? 


End file.
